Press clippings services monitor the news for mentions of key words, normally a company name and perhaps its competitors. It’s largely a manual process whereby readers literally cut articles from print publications and then send them to their customers. These services, provided by companies such as BurrellesLuce in the US and Romeike in Europe, charge a monthly fee and used to be a staple of any PR campaign.

The advent of online publications, then blogs and Internet search technologies, are changing the game for press clippings services. Many start ups would rather save the $300+ per month, relying on cheaper online services from Google News Alerts to Magenta News. In response clip services, are moving more towards evaluation and analysis, while at the same time moving staff overseas to reduce costs.

Large organizations will probably always want, and be able to afford, a print clippings service. But for the majority of SMBs and emerging companies, will these services be seen as a luxury? Will PR firms insist on a clip service as they did a few years ago? Given the speed of online news, are these services still valuable when it comes to response? Then again, are the newer propositions as comprehensive? Is cutting the clip service really just forcing PR teams to take the process back in-house? So, will traditional press clippings services survive?

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